Boy, oh, Boise!

Walking into Memorial Stadium, Aug-2002.

The five distinct sections of the grandstand are seen here.

The park looks out on trees and foothills.

Chronological Tour: Stop 231

• Location: Western Idaho Fairgrounds, Glenwood Street, Boise, Idaho (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1989
• Home team: Boise Hawks, Northwest League (1989-2019), Pioneer League (2021-present)
• Capacity: 4,500

Rating: 3 baseballs

The field faces in the somewhat traditional direction of northeast. The first-base seating sections get the setting sun, so they are the least improved of the bunch and cost the least. There are five sections, all concrete. The one behind the plate and the two on the third-base side have stadium seats; the two on the first-base side have aluminum bleachers.

I was impressed by the fact that the Hawks don’t blow the fans away with loud music or run an excessive number of promotions (though they have some). They let the game be the thing, and that’s just how I like it.

In a geopolitcal oddity, the fairgrounds complex that includes Memorial Stadium is not within city limits; nor is it in the adjacent city of Garden City. Officially, it is simply in Ada County, but Boise is the most convenient reference.

There has been talk here of building a new stadium for years, but until then, Memorial Stadium does the job. Interestingly, Boise State University is beginning a baseball program in 2020, and they will use Memorial Stadium for one season while a new artificial turf field is being built on campus for 2021.